Honeybees have been the first choice of growers across the United States to pollinate crops and improve the quality of their yields for nearly four centuries. Imported from Europe in the early years of North American colonization, honeybees became a…

In northern Michigan, spring still seems like a ways off, but the MSU Integrated Crop Pollination team is preparing for bloom in cherry. This season, we will be expanding our project to include using the alternative pollination, Osmia cornifrons, horn-faced…

An international study revealing the importance of wild pollinators for production of fruits and vegetables is providing new insights that may help improve Michigan’s pollination-dependent crops… Read the full article posted by MSU Today

Check out our ICP news article that’s now online! Every spring in the United States, bees pollinate crops valued at about $14 billion. A Michigan State University professor and a team of scientists are using a five-year, $8.6 million grant…

About Project ICP

Members of the Project Team are investigating the performance, economics, and farmer perceptions of different pollination strategies in various fruit and vegetable crops. These include complete reliance on honey bees, farm habitat manipulation to enhance suitability for bees, and use of managed native bees alone or in combination with honey bees. The Project Team has a strong outreach focus, and will deliver its findings to specialty crop agriculture through various diverse routes of traditional and new media, including this website.